Dissolution of the Jessica Day Principle
by Newgirl78
Summary: Nick and Cece have learned that, sometimes, Jessica Day can be too sweet and gullible for her own good. What happens when they mistakenly think that Jess is in over her head and needs them to step in and rescue her?
1. The laws of her nature

**This story is the brainchild of not-a-mer-gentleman. She came up with this amazing idea and I'm going for it.**

* * *

Cece sat at the dining table, paging through a magazine. Legs crossed to the side, she leaned her head on her hand and started to nervously shake her leg, a sleek black heel dangling from her big toe.

"Jess, what are you doing in there?"

Nick let out a small laugh from his seat on the couch as he tipped his beer toward his mouth. "Finally feeling my pain, huh Cece?"

"Seriously," Cece shoved the magazine toward the center of the table and reached for her purse laying on her lap. Just then they heard a loud crash and a yelp coming from the direction of Jess' room down the hall and Nick jumped off the couch, slamming his beer quickly onto the coffee table.

"Jess?!"

Cece followed a few steps behind Nick, and he rushed through her door without knocking. After stepping into the room, Cece ran right into Nick's back as he stopped short, knocking the air out of her lungs in a loud "oooof".

"Jess." Nick unsuccessfully hid his expression and started laughing, finding his girlfriend in a twisted heap on the floor directly under her window. Her desk chair was next to her dresser and one side of her curtains was hanging unevenly from the rod. Running around to the side of the bed, he picked Jess up off the floor, steadying her as she teetered on a ridiculously high pair of silver heels. His voice was firm, but laced with a hint of laughter. "Jessica, what the hell are you doing?!"

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and flopped down on the bed. "I just wanted to open the damn window. It's hot as anything in here." She started fanning herself and Cece sat down on the opposite side of the bed.

"No wonder." Cece plucked a few items off the bed and threw them back into the pile on her pillows. "How many outfits have you tried on here?"

Jess scowled at her with arms crossed and looked back at Nick. "Can you please open my window? It's stuck again."

Shaking his head, he reached up and undid the latch, tilting the window out and turning back towards her with a smirk on his face. "Did you try to stand on a _rolling_ chair in those?" Pointing to her shoes, he shook his head.

"Fine." Her arms flew in the air, her voice gradually trailing off. "It wasn't my most brilliant idea. I usually have great balance..."

"You could have really hurt yourself, why didn't you just ask, Jess? You knew I was right out there."

"Because I don't always need you to do things for me, Nick Miller."

Nick shook his head and glanced at Cece, who was just biting her lip trying hard not to laugh. They exchanged a glance, which Jess noticed immediately and her head bounced back and forth between them.

"Hold up. What's going on here?"

Nick stepped to the side, rolling her desk chair in front of where Jess was seated on the bed and sat down. "Nothing, it's just that..." He cringed, running his hands through his hair and hoping the conversation would go in a different direction.

"What he means, Jess, is that you do need help with this kind of stuff a _lot_."

Jess crossed her arms and smacking her foot on the ground indignantly. "Oh my God, I do not."

"Jess," Nick leaned forward to place his hands on her knees. "Yesterday, you were actually going to let someone you didn't know borrow your cell phone to call _London_."

"Oh, come on." Flipping his hands off her knees, Jess scowled. "They were really, really sweet and it was their _grandmother_."

"It's not a bad thing." Nick flashed her a smile, momentarily halting her frustration. "I love how sweet you are, and you call me out on _my_ questionable decisions all the time."

"Don't patronize me, Nicholas Miller..."

Nick shook his head. "All I'm saying, is that sometimes you can be a little too..."

"Gullible? Clueless?"

Jess whipped her head toward her best friend. "CECE!"

"Oh, come on Jess. If it weren't for my gentle coaxing years ago, you'd still be insisting that _overalls_ are actually a viable clothing option."

"Not everyone can look like a model all the time."

Cece sighed. "Jess, we're not trying to be mean. You just need people like us to depend on for certain things, that's all."

"NO, Cece, I don't." She scowled at her friend and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I'm going to shut up now. Don't over think this thing tonight, Jess. It's just dinner with my colleagues." Cece shrugged casually.

"Who happen to be gorgeous..." Jess muttered under her breath as Cece made her way out of the room.

Jess turned to Nick with a angry glare across her face. "And, you."

"Hey, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to get in a fight with you." He gently coaxed her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "I love how smart and independent you are, but I kinda enjoy taking care of you too. I like being needed." Kissing her cheek, he smiled.

"Because you think I'm helpless and naive?"

"Jess, that's not..." Nick frowned and shook his head. "Okay, I'm going to shut up now before I get myself in even more trouble.."

Nick hated when Jess' self-confidence was sent into a tailspin like this, usually the result of letting other people get in her head. He thought she was amazing just the way she was, and there was a small part of him that resented Cece for putting so much pressure on her with things like these fancy dinners all the time in the hopes of becoming closer with those other models. They always sent Jess into these fits of self-doubt and anxiety, and he couldn't understand why she didn't see how much more beautiful and intelligent she was than those idiots.

Nick _loved _that there were times when he could be her go-to person and really depend on him. Most of the time, if he was being honest, he was a little intimidated with how together she always seemed to be with what she wanted out of life. He feared a day when Jess may realize she didn't really need him. Having her depend on him, even for things that might seem silly like opening windows, made him feel like this could really be more someday.

"Hey," They both stood up and he gently grabbed her chin with his hand, looking straight into her eyes with a smile. "I will _never _stop wanting to help you."

Her resolve quickly melted away and a slow smile crept across her face. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she leaned closer and put her head on his chest. "Thanks, Miller." Sinking into him for a moment, she took a few calming breath before she stepped back . Biting her lip nervously, she put her hands along her hips to smooth her deep pink dress. "So...do I look okay?"

"Absolutely beautiful. I don't care how many models are at that table tonight, I'd only notice you." Leaning in and smiling, he gave her a quick kiss, before raising his eyebrows. "But I know you won't have any fun if you're worrying about those shoes."

Smirking, Jess just shook her head, stepping out her heels and kicking them to the closet one at a time.

Nick winked, taking a few steps backwards before turning to leave.

"I'm still mad at both of you!" Jess blew her bangs out of her face and crossed her arms in front of her.

Nick turned in the doorway with a huge smirk on his face, saluting her and pointing both hands at her as guns.

Shaking her head and hands on her hips, she muttered to herself, "You're both going to see just how self-sufficient Jessica Day really is."


	2. Hypothesis

**Once again, a big thank you to not-a-mer-gentleman for the hilarious idea!**

* * *

Nick poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned back against the counter by the sink. Yawning, he ran his hand over his cheek in an attempt to finally wake up. Jess had already been up for hours, but it was after eleven and he had just wandered out of her bedroom half asleep. The only thing he remembered from this morning was Jess walking in with an armful of paperwork, before he threw the covers over his head to go back to sleep. After a few sips of his coffee, his eyes settled on the dining table, which had what looked like Jess' paperwork strewn across the surface. Upon closer inspection, though, he realized it was a pile of newspaper ads. Scrunching his face, he walked over to the table and placed his mug down. As he picked up an ad in his hand, he noticed there were several listings circled in red marker.

"Hey, you." Jess had crept up behind him and she wrapped her arm around him in a sideways hug. "Watcha doin'?"

Nick turned toward her and held up an ad. "What's all this?"

Jess shrugged, stepping forward to scoop the papers into a neat pile. "Just looking for a car."

"To buy?" He tossed his paper onto her neat stack and crossed his arms in front him. "Were you planning to go by yourself?"

"Geez, Nick." She glared at him, picking the pile up and holding it to her chest. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"No," His face softened. "I mean, why didn't you ask for my help?"

Turning her chin over her shoulder, she pressed her lips together. "Maybe because I don't need it."

"Jess..." He let out a small laugh. "you fall for every marketing gimick known to man..."

She scowled. "I do not!"

"So I've_ never_ had to turn off the Home Shopping Network for fear that you'd max out your credit card on craft supplies?"

"Okay, that was _once_, Nick." The held up her finger in front of his face. "and I was in the middle of making a really cute blanket for Sadie's baby! Have you ever _felt_ Alpaca yarn?"

He laughed, reaching out to rub his hands up and down her arms. "Okay, fine. But I'm going with you. This is a _car_, Jess. Do you know how many guys would take advantage of you while you're wearing one of your cute little dresses?!"

"Cute, huh?" She took a deep breath as her nostrils flared, anger starting to spread across her face in the form of a deep red hue. "Is that all you think I am, Nick Miller? Cute? I am an intelligent, capable woman, and I don't need some _man_ telling me how to buy my own car!"

"Wait, that's not..." He sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. He locked eyes with her, flinching at the anger he could see in her glare.

Jess pulled herself away from his grasp and lifted her chin. "I'm doing this myself. Since you and Cece _both_ seem to think I can't possibly function without you, I'm going to prove you wrong."

He shook his head, closing his eyes for a brief moment to keep his emotions in check. "This is _not_ the time to try and prove someone wrong, Jessica. This is a _lot_ of money we're talking about..."

"_My_ money, Nick. So just lay off, okay!"

She turned on her heels and stomped off toward her bedroom, slamming the door loudly behind her.

* * *

Cece walked up to the bar and slid onto one of the stools. Smiling, Nick walked across from the kitchen, grabbing a glass. He held up a bottle of red wine and Cece just nodded.

"So, I got your text." Cece glared at Nick questioningly, before taking a sip of her Shiraz. "Kinda cryptic there, Miller."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

Cece gave a little smile. "What's up?"

"So uh, Jess wants to buy a car."

"Yeah, I know." She glared at him. "Apparently that lovely car that she traded in for your release from Mexican jail isn't very reliable. Imagine that."

Nick just nodded. "I deserve that."

Cece's eyes softened and she started to smile. "So why the secret meeting?"

Leaning over the bar, he lowered his voice, becoming more serious. "You don't actually think it's a good idea for her to go buy a used car by herself, do you?"

"Nick, she has a Masters' degree. I think she can decide how to spend her own money."

"Fine, let me put this another way. Do you really think it's a good idea for her to go around _by herself_ to some sleazy guy's house who_ might_ be selling a car?"

"She found your loft on Craigslist, and she did just fine there." She smirked as Nick's jaw dropped.

"Well, I..."

"Sorry, I had to." A small laugh escaped her lips before she nodded. "But you do have a point. You're her boyfriend though, why aren't you just going with her?"

Nervously tapping his fingers on the smooth wood surface of the bar, he cringed. "I think she's still pissed off about what we said the other day."

"Wait, that?" She waved her hand dismissively. "She'll be fine. She knows we were just giving her a hard time."

"I don't think she does. She's still mad and now she's determined to prove us wrong."

"Hmm." Cece just shrugged her shoulders, taking another sip of wine. "Well, what do you want to do? I mean, we can't force her to take our advice. This _is_ Jess we're talking about."

"Right, but we _can_ go check out the car first. Make sure she's getting what she thinks she is." He pointed at her, raising his eyebrows.

Cece just glared back at him and shook her head. "And _how_ do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, you can 'distract' the seller in one of your model getups and I'll check out the car."

"Model _getups_?" She scrunched up her nose and raised her eyebrows. "Not a thing, Nick. They're called clothes."

"Okay...your, _clothes_." He nodded his head in an accentuated wink, met only by a stern glare from Cece. Annoyed, yet somewhat amused, she sighed loudly and replied in a rather unenthusiastic tone.

"And while I'm doing my _model thing_ what will you be doing?" She leaned forward, squinting her eyes. "How much do _you_ know about cars? You know how ridiculous you sound right now, right?"

"Hey, I resent that...I know _plenty_ of things about cars." The volume of his voice quickly increasing. "My father conned people into buying junkers all the time!"

"Yeah," Cece shook her head. "not sure that's something to brag about, Miller."

"Well, I know enough to know if they're trying to rip her off!"

"I don't know." Cece took a long sip of wine to ponder Nick's idea. Placing the glass back down on the bar, she swirled it several times with her perfectly manicured fingers before looking back up at Nick, uncertain if they should proceed. "She finds out about this, we're both in deep. _Especially_ if she's still as mad at us as you say she is from the other day."

Nick scoffed, pushing up his sleeves. "I think I can handle a little Jess Day anger, Cece."

Cece just raised her eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest. "Really?" Laughing as he squirmed, she shook her head. "Yeah, didn't think so."

"NO," He slapped his hands down on the bar, determination written across his face. "we need to do this. I can't let some guy take advantage of her."

Cece rolled her eyes, defeated. "Fine. Text me the details and I'll be there with my most tantalizing '_model getup' _on." Gesturing her fingers in air quotes, a smirk spread across her face.

"Thanks, Cece."

"Fair warning though...she _does_ catch wind of this, you better have other living arrangements planned. Because she will be ready to kill you."


End file.
